FC Bayern fights the problem of empty seats
FC Bayern Munich sweeps aside VfB Stuttgart, although the omens are anything but favorable. A disaster in the league and spectacular personnel problems cause stress. But then the mood changed rapidly.
A week ago, FC Bayern Munich was still on the ground, badly beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt: the 1:5 in Frankfurt reverberated. "The passion, the venom and the energy it takes to win games away from home were certainly not there," Thomas Tuchel scolded his humiliated team. "We didn't play well and made too many mistakes. They were punished harshly today. We were punished extremely harshly for what we conceded. Now we have to ask ourselves how it can be that we start a game like that."
Just a few days later and with a win at Manchester United behind them, the record champions are back on the right track - and Tuchel praised them on DAZN after the 3-0 win in the top-of-the-table clash with VfB Stuttgart: "I'm very satisfied, that was anything but a matter of course!"
Due to numerous absentees, Tuchel only named 15 outfield players for the important game on Sunday evening. "It was tough today," said the coach, who had to take national team player Serge Gnabry off the pitch injured just a few minutes after coming on as a substitute in the disaster at Frankfurt. "Two days ago, Harry (Kane) and 'Upa' (defender Dayot Upamecano) were missing, so that was a huge question mark. Upa was still testing today, he wasn't in training yesterday. He was in bed for two days, came into training today and made himself available - and then the two central defenders put in such a match." Indeed: Harry Kane scored twice, while Upamecano, who was desolate in Frankfurt, slowed down Stuttgart's impressive offense this season to a virtual standstill together with goal scorer Min-Jae Kim.
"Free chairs everywhere in the meeting room"
It was clear beforehand that midfielder Konrad Laimer, originally brought in to provide a defensive solution in central midfield, would have to replace full-back Noussair Mazraoui. However, after the designated double six of Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich withdrew the night before the game, the status of the Bayern squad for the all-important match changed from "severely weakened" to "last resort". And that not only had an impact on the line-up, but also on the team talk, as Tuchel revealed.
"We put the team spirit in the foreground. Today, a few people looked around and there were empty chairs everywhere in our meeting room. One by one, people said goodbye. Then it's important that you accept it and say, 'Okay, this might be a bit jerky and not all positions are immediately recognizable'. You have to go a few extra meters, everyone did that, it was great."
With the injured defender Matthijs de Ligt, whose nomination Tuchel himself described as "irresponsible" and an "absolute emergency", and youngster Noel Aseko Nkil, who was "simply brought in", there were also two players on the bench who merely filled out the squad. Both were left out.
Instead of Goretzka and Kimmich, Tuchel sent on home-grown Aleksandar Pavlovic alongside Raphaël Guerreiro to steer the record champions' play. "It's not so much a problem of who plays, but that they had no rhythm at all," revealed Tuchel. "I think Rapha came in with 45 minutes of playing time since his injury, Aleks Pavlovic played very few minutes."
"That was very good"
Pavlovic in particular, 19 years old and with FC Bayern since the age of eight, impressed with a surprisingly composed performance and two assists from set-pieces. The youngster's performance should also satisfy the longing of Bayern fans and officials for a player from the club's own youth ranks to finally become a permanent fixture in FC Bayern's international ensemble. Tuchel praised the "good boy", but also dutifully put the brakes on: "We proved today that we trust him. But let's leave the church in the village."
For the coach, the current situation is more likely to have fueled a longing for a new "holding six". Before the start of the season, Tuchel had vehemently called for a new signing to take care of the defensive midfield in particular. In the summer, the deal with João Palhinha from Fulham FC fell through at the last minute, with a new transfer window opening in the winter. But nobody wanted to talk about that that evening. "It was a deserved win in a complicated, difficult game. It was very good," said Tuchel at the end.
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Despite their previous disappointing performance against Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern Munich managed to dominate VfB Stuttgart, thanks in part to the defensive efforts of Thomas Tuchel's modified lineup. In the absence of key players, the young Aleksandar Pavlovic impressed with a mature display, contributing to Bayern's 3-0 victory and potentially securing his place in the first team.
Under Tuchel's leadership, FC Bayern Munich faced a challenging situation, with numerous absences and empty seats in the team's meeting room before their match against VfB Stuttgart. However, the team rallied together, with each player stepping up and covering for their absent teammates.
Source: www.ntv.de
